An internal Israeli military review is examining whether Israeli helicopter fire contributed to the deaths of civilians near the Nova music festival outside Re’im on October 7, 2023 — a line of inquiry that underscores the scale of Israel’s operational failure that day, according to reporting by Haaretz.
The review focuses on the opening hours of the attack, when Israeli defenses collapsed across the Gaza border and military forces responded with overwhelming force despite having little to no understanding of where Israeli civilians were located.
Helicopters Fired Despite Civilian Presence
According to Israeli military and security sources cited by Haaretz, Apache helicopters were deployed hastily as militants crossed into Israel. Pilots entered the area without a coherent battlefield picture and with no functioning coordination between air and ground units.
Despite this, helicopters were authorized to fire near roads, fields, and open areas in the Re’im region — precisely where hundreds of festivalgoers were fleeing on foot and by vehicle.
Military sources acknowledged that:
- Commanders knew civilians were scattered throughout the area.
- Pilots could not reliably distinguish between militants and Israelis.
- Fire was still authorized due to the absence of alternative response plans.
Haaretz reported that the danger of Israeli fire killing civilians was not hypothetical — it was understood in real time and accepted as a risk.
Collapse of Command and Control
The events surrounding Nova were not the result of split-second mistakes, but of a systemic breakdown. According to Haaretz, there was no unified command structure directing the response in southern Israel during the critical early hours.
Air units operated independently, ground forces were overwhelmed or absent, and civilian protection was effectively abandoned. In that vacuum, lethal force was applied broadly, without safeguards for Israelis trapped in the same kill zones as militants.
Hamas Did Not Target the Festival — Israel Still Failed to Protect Civilians
Post-attack intelligence reviews cited by Haaretz found no conclusive evidence that Hamas had advance knowledge of the Nova festival or planned to target it specifically.
The festival’s location had been changed shortly before the event, and available intelligence suggests militants encountered the gathering after crossing into Israel.
That finding deepens scrutiny of Israeli responsibility: even without a pre-planned attack on the festival, Israeli authorities allowed a large civilian event to take place near a sealed military zone — and then responded with indiscriminate fire once control was lost.
Secrecy and Withheld Findings
The Israel Defense Forces has acknowledged that friendly-fire incidents occurred during the October 7 response but has refused to release a casualty breakdown showing how many civilians may have been killed by Israeli fire.
Key materials remain classified, including:
- Engagement authorizations
- Aerial strike logs
- Forensic analyses linking wounds to specific weapons systems
Families of Nova victims have demanded transparency, but Haaretz reports that the military has provided few concrete answers more than a year later.
Accountability Deferred
Israeli officials continue to insist that responsibility for October 7 rests solely with Hamas. Yet Haaretz’s reporting shows that Israeli decisions — from intelligence failures to reckless use of airpower — directly endangered civilians the state was obligated to protect.
The Nova festival deaths now stand as a case study not only in terror, but in state negligence: a security system that collapsed, a military that fired blindly, and an investigation that remains largely hidden from the public.
Until Israel releases full findings and accepts responsibility for its actions, the Nova tragedy will remain unresolved — not because the truth is unknowable, but because it is being withheld.
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